Syracuse football true seniors proud of their impact but feel they have some unfinished business

Syracuse football wide receiver Alec Lemon: âHopefully I can leave the program on a high note and be a building step toward bringing it back to where it was.âFrank Ordoñez / The Post-Standard

Syracuse, NY -- They arrived on the campus of Syracuse University four summers ago, shortly after their coach. They threw in their lot with him knowing the challenge would be difficult, the ascent steep and rocky. They came anyway.

And now they are about to leave. Zack Chibane, Alec Lemon, Brandon Sharpe and Shamarko Thomas will play their final game in the Carrier Dome at noon Saturday when the Orange (4-5, 3-2) faces Louisville (9-0, 4-0) in a Big East game (ABC) that will go a long way toward deciding its postseason fate.

Other seniors will be honored along with them before the game, but this quartet shares the distinction of being part of Doug Marrone’s first recruiting class. They were pressed into action immediately as Marrone began the process of rebuilding a competitive team from the ruins of Greg Robinson’s 10-37 venture.

“You wish you could have redshirted them” Marrone said. “That was a decision I made early on. I wanted to see how good we could be right away.”

So, they played. Chibane, an offensive guard, saw duty exclusively on the kickoff return team, a byproduct of making the two-deep as a rookie reserve lineman. Lemon joined a rotation at wide receiver, Sharpe as an undersized pass-rushing defensive end. Thomas, who caught Marrone’s eye immediately with his fierce desire and fiercer tackles, played safety, cornerback and linebacker in the team’s Okie pass defense.

Each has grown into an integral element of the team that will face the No. 10 Cardinals on Saturday. Consider:

Chibane will be making his 35th consecutive start at left guard, a rock of consistency who blocked for 1,000-yard rushers Delone Carter and Antwon Bailey his first two seasons and now is an anchor on an offense that has blossomed to No. 26 in the nation, averaging 463.78 yards per game.

Syracuse football guard Zack Chibane: âWe knew it wasnât going to be easy turning this program around.â Frank Ordoñez / The Post-Standard

“It feels great,” he said. “We finally turned that corner this year and have been able to do a lot of nice things through the air and on the ground. I still think we’re only scratching the surface of what we can do. We’ve been leaving a lot of points off the board. There are a lot of things we can improve on. Hopefully we do that in these next three and hopefully four games.”

Lemon, second on the team with 44 receptions for 569 yards and three touchdowns after missing the opener with a hamstring injury, is the Orange’s career leader in receptions with 173. He set a single-season record with 68 catches last season when he made second-team All-Big East. He is No. 5 on the school career list in receiving yards (2,095) and No. 7 in TD receptions (14).

“The reason I came here with the new coaching staff was to change the program back to where it was in the past,” he said. “Hopefully I can leave the program on a high note and be a building step toward bringing it back to where it was.”

Sharpe, now an every-down defensive end at 6-foot-1 and 255 pounds, will enter the game leading the team in tackles for a loss (12.5) and sacks (5.5). He was national defensive player of the week for his performance in a 14-13 victory over Pittsburgh on Oct. 5 in which he recorded four sacks and six tackles for a loss, No. 2 on the school’s career list behind Doug Hogue’s 6.5 vs. Rutgers in 2009.

“I thought I was going to be redshirted because of my size,” he said. “I was about 220 playing defensive end and they told me I would probably redshirt me, but after they saw me play they said this guy can play now. He can rush the passer now (he had 3.5 sacks as a rookie).”

Thomas leads the Orange defense in tackles (66), forced fumbles (3) and interceptions (2). He is No. 7 on the school’s career list for tackles by a defensive back with 241.

“All this hard work we put in and what we’ve been through and seeing how it’s developing now, it’s very exciting,” he said. “Things are changing here.”

They are changing in large part because of the contributions of a quartet pressed into service as rookies during Marrone’s inaugural 4-8 season and now boast 177 games of experience between them as they prepare for their Dome farewell.

“Had they gone to another program they might have been redshirted and had that extra year,” Marrone said. “But I think the accomplishments of those players are well-earned and well-deserved. And I think that’s why it’s important that we play well enough and go ahead and win this game on Senior Day. I’ve talked to the kids about that.”

And the four true seniors have talked about it among themselves. Accomplishments aside, each is painfully aware the team is 21-25 since they arrived, substantially better than 10-37 but also much worse than they envisioned. It would take a run of four victories – the final three regular-season games and a bowl game – to finish at .500. Each said attaining that goal is an important part of their legacy here.

“We definitely have some unfinished business,” Sharpe said. “We definitely have to go out with a bowl game. It’s his first recruiting class. We definitely have to make Coach Marrone happy and make us happy.”

“It means a lot,” Thomas said. “I learned a lot, matured a lot here. I learned a lot from Marrone. He taught me how to be a man out here.”

All are men now. They were boys when they arrived four summers ago but are men now as they prepare for yet another daunting challenge – trying to become the first SU team in a decade to upset a top-10 opponent, one they have never defeated since enrolling.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy turning this program around,” Chibane said. “We’re Coach Marrone’s first class. We definitely feel there is some unfinished business. We’ve never beaten Louisville. It would be a great way to send these seniors out in the Dome with one pretty big win here on Saturday.”